Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming
release.
Omnipotent
Blood is the second of four books in my Urban Fantasy Sisters in Blood series.
The supernatural world expands in this installment, with Angels, Demons and
witches joining the fray, which made it really enjoyable to write. The book
blurb is below:
Having survived the attack inside the Natick Mall, Brooke
dreads the thought of spending decades in exile while she waits for the media
firestorm from the superhuman brawl to run its course. But soon after fleeing
Boston, she discovers the battle caught the eye of forces far more lethal than
humans.
Captured by the dark Goddess Lilith, Brooke has her soul stripped away,
becoming a greater demon tasked with leading Hell’s forces to war.
But not even Lilith could have anticipated the powerful
bond Brooke has formed with her family. Or the unlikely alliances they’d forge
in an attempt to save her. Her love for Sienna and her sisters prevents her
from fully embracing the darkness, but the demon spirit inside her is claiming
more control of her mind with each passing day. It’s a race against time, and
the whole world is at stake.
Is there a theme or message in your work that you
would like readers to connect to?
At its heart the Sisters in Blood series is about
self-discovery, overcoming the challenges that we encounter and embracing the
fact that life can take us in totally unexpected directions. We all have hidden
abilities inside that will never be uncovered if we are too afraid to explore
and try new things. I was especially delighted to read the Fantascize.com review for
Omnipotent Blood (excerpts below) because it praised the depth of the
storyline.
"I felt like I
was discovering a new type of folklore, complete with fantastic descriptions of
terrifying and amazing creatures." "Michaels explores complex issues
such as sexuality, faith, and sacrifice without pretense or artificiality. His
characters are realistic, complete with their flaws and mistakes and genuine
emotions. Michaels puts trust in his readers' ability to suspend their
disbelief, and in turn he presents them with a compelling, enthralling
narrative." "Readers of Omnipotent Blood will find that it continues
to resonate with them long after they finish reading." Fantascize.com
What would your readers be surprised to learn about
you?
Let’s see, I played college football at Saginaw
Valley State University which is where I met my amazing wife, Teresa. We had a
management class together and went on our first date on my 22nd
birthday twenty-three years ago.
One of the reasons the
series is set in Boston is that I've been a diehard Patriots fan since I was
six years old. I wasn't able to attend a game in person until 2010, but we did
visit the old Sullivan stadium on a family trip when I was nine, arriving just
after midnight. In a truly "Wally World"esque moment, my parents
talked a guard into letting us into the stadium :)
One of the traits I
share in common with Emily (the protagonist) is a profound love of nature and
wildlife. My wife and I have visited Yellowstone National Park three times and
plan to renew our vows there someday. Hiking and animal photography are among
my favorite hobbies.
When you’re not writing what do you do? Do you have
any hobbies or guilty
pleasures?
My wife and I love hiking and viewing wildlife. We have
been to Yellowstone National Park four times. Someday I’d love to retire there.
After twenty years of marriage we still go on a date night ever Saturday, which
typically consists of catching a movie and eating at one of our favorite
restaurants. I am a lifelong New England Patriots fan, back to the early
seventies, and played football in both high school and college. I grew up
playing sports, hunting and fishing with my three brothers and our dad. And I
am an avid reader, of course. I may have to build a new wing onto our house
soon if I keep devouring novels at my current pace J
Is there a genre(s) that you’d like to write that
you haven’t tackled yet?
I am currently working
on my first fantasy romance. While I enjoy writing in both the Urban Fantasy
and Fantasy genres, I find Urban Fantasy to be a little easier. By being rooted
in the “real” world, it provides the author and reader with an established
foundation to tie the magical / supernatural elements into. Whereas if your
world is full of carnivorous jasperia vines, soul stealing mist clouds and all
manner of unique creatures, you need to get the reader’s head around these
elements in addition to introducing the main plot and your central characters.
On the other hand, Fantasy writing provides a blank canvas for the author which
is incredibly endearing to me. I hold Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone,
Days of Blood and Starlight) in high regard as a Fantasy Author and have
learned a great deal from her writing.
What is next for you? Do you have any scheduled
upcoming releases or works in progress?
I’m currently working on a fantasy romance called Kerrigan’s Race, which features a female
Olympic swimmer who is captured and taken to a foreign world full of mermaids,
griffins, fae, elves and other strange creatures. I’ll start writing book three
in the Sisters in Blood series soon,
as well.
What is in your to read pile?
Both the Sea Haven
and Drake Sister’s series by
Christine Feehan, A Wise Man’s Fear
by Patrick
Rothfuss, Prince Lestat by Anne Rice
and The Black Prism by Brent Weeks.
Sisters in Blood
Book Two
CM Michaels
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Freya’s Bower
Date of Publication: October 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1617981654
ASIN: B015S1FTPG
Number of pages: 294
Word Count: 117,529
Cover Artist: LLPix Design
Book Description:
Having survived the attack inside the Natick Mall, Brooke dreads the thought of spending decades in exile while she waits for the media firestorm from the superhuman brawl to run its course. But soon after fleeing Boston, she discovers the battle caught the eye of forces far more lethal than humans. Captured by the dark Goddess Lilith, Brooke has her soul stripped away, becoming a greater demon tasked with leading Hell's forces to war.
But not even Lilith could have anticipated the powerful bond Brooke has formed with her family. Or the unlikely alliances they'd forge in an attempt to save her. Her love for Sienna and her sisters prevents her from fully embracing the darkness, but the demon spirit inside her is claiming more control of her mind with each passing day.
Excerpt:
As she drew
closer I got a good look at her face. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck
tingled. I’d seen her before—the creepy room service girl at the hotel who’d
held my wrist for about five seconds after I’d taken my glass of wine. “Am I
supposed to believe that you just happened to show up here? A hundred and fifty
miles from the hotel you work at?”
She grinned,
securing her thick, wavy hair in a ponytail. “Of course not—although I don’t
actually work at the hotel.” She made a wide sweeping gesture with her arm
toward the wreckage. “Who do you think caused the accident?”
This whole
encounter was freaking me out. Fuck being discrete. I visualized her flying
backward into the snow bank. In an instant the strange connections formed in my
mind, physically linking me to all of the cars, people and debris that
surrounded me. I didn’t want to hurt her—not yet, anyway—so I only pushed hard
enough to send her sailing about fifteen yards into the ditch.
She laughed as
she climbed to her feet, shaking the snow off her designer outfit. “It’s been a
while since I’ve been knocked on my ass. Impressive.”
I’d never felt
so dumbfounded in my life. Even if this psycho bitch was used to fighting my
kind it was unlikely she’d ever crossed paths with another telekinetic. She was
acting like I’d crafted a wiener dog out of a balloon at the fair. “What the
hell are you?”
“I need you to
come with me,” she said, making no effort to respond to my question. “And since
you seem to be immune to being bound—I’ve been trying ever since you got out of
the car—you’re going to have to consume my blood first.”
“I’m not going
anywhere with you!” Where the hell were Sienna, Raven and Sandy? Ruby’s
escalade might be shielding them from seeing the encounter, but even if it did,
I wasn’t exactly being quiet. And Ruby was staring right at us.
“Your coven
sisters can’t see or hear you.” She’d apparently guessed my thoughts by the
direction I was looking. “A simple illusion. To them you appear as if you’re
still sitting in the passenger seat like you were told.”
“How—”
“Enough!” Her
voice boomed with unnatural power, causing me to take an involuntary step
backward. “I have no desire to harm you, child, but you are coming with me.
Now.”
With all of the
abilities that I had been given, I never thought I’d have cause to feel afraid
again, but watching her approach me like I was nothing but a petulant child
made me shiver. There was no way to fake that type of unwavering and absolute
confidence.
Still, she
couldn’t possibly know I was far stronger and faster than the vampires she was
accustomed to. Like every redneck bar brawler, she’d finally messed with the
wrong person. I shifted my feet into a more athletic stance and began to study
her movements, searching for a weakness to exploit. My muscles tensed in
anticipation. “Take another step toward me and I’ll rip your fucking heart
out.”
She lunged.
C.M Michaels grew up in a small town in northern Michigan as the youngest child of a close-knit family of seven. He met his wife, Teresa, while attending Saginaw Valley State University. Together they’ve provided a loving home for several four-legged “kids”, including Sophie, their eternally young at heart, hopelessly spoiled Spaniel.
He has always enjoyed writing, and still has fond memories of reading his first book, a children’s novella, to local grade schools when he was 14. C.M. is currently working on the third book in the Sisters in Blood series along with a Fantasy romance called Kerrigan’s Race.
An avid reader since discovering Jim Kjelgaard novels in early childhood, his favorite authors include Kelley Armstrong, Peter V. Brett, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine and Laini Taylor. When he’s not writing, C.M. can be found curled up with a good book, watching movies or hitting the hiking trails with his wife.
C.M. currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky.
Website: http://cmmichaels.com/
2 comments:
Thank you so much for hosting me today and giving me the opportunity to tell your readers about myself and my latest release, Omnipotent Blood. I really enjoyed answering the interview questions :)
Awesome interview. I'm a huge fan of C.M. Michaels. Omnipotent Blood and Dangerous Waters are both fantastic reads that suck you right inside. I can hardly wait until Kerrigan's race is released!
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